The man with lifeless eyes
by Rothran
Summary: Honestly, not sure if i'll ever update this again. sorry. i may come back to it, but i wouldn't count on it.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: The man with lifeless eyes

"I'm sorry, Hikki."

"Huh?"

"With the way things are now, I just can't. It's true, I did want to confess to you after the fireworks festival, but now with the situation with Yukinon, and after all that's happened."

"It just doesn't feel right, huh?"

She nods in affirmation.

"...I'm glad, but I'm sorry, to be honest, I'm not so sure of my feelings anymore. Maybe you're right, maybe it was just me feeling grateful." so she says, but I can see her trembling as she says it.

"And then there's Yukinon's feelings, and Iroha-chan, too." she whispers to herself.

"I like the relationship we have now. Will you wait for me to sort myself out?"

"And pretend like it's nothing in the meantime?"

"Everyone has something they hold dear, something they never want to lose. That's why they pretend. I think you said that once." she quotes me. "I don't want to lose us."

I hate nice girls. Just by exchanging greetings with them will get them on your mind. Start texting each other, and your heart will be set a flutter. If they call you, you're done for. Enjoy staring at your logs and grinning like a fool. I've said time and time again, I wouldn't be fooled again, but here I am, but I guess this time we're both fools. I decided to accept her kindness and she fell for mine. I broke her heart once, now she's breaking mine. It's even.

…

"I'm sorry. Hikigaya-kun, but I can't accept it, as well."

"Huh, you knew?"

"Yes, we once had an agreement that we wouldn't talk about you, but Yuigahama-san felt she couldn't hold it back."

"I knew it. Knew it all along. I betrayed her trust. She told me because she wanted me to respect it, she wanted me to let things be. She sacrificed her happiness for the sake of our relationships. I would've fine with that, if it wasn't for one detail." she pauses for moment. "You confessed first."

I can't exactly say why, but those words hit hard.

"I don't want to betray Yui anymore than I already have. I'm glad, I'm glad that I was able to get you to confess, too, and it makes me sick. I'm sorry to put you through this twice in these past few months, but I can't accept it either. I'm sorry, really sorry."

She runs away. Another rejection. I lean my back against the wall and look up at the falling mid-spring snow. After my confession to Yuigahama, Yukinoshita suddenly seemed to be taking more initiative in our conversations and relationships. Several times, she invited me out on pseudo-dates, and again I found myself falling. I've let my guard down. Haha, I guess this is what it truly means to be a loner.

…

"I'm sorry, senpai. I'm going to have to stop you there."

It's just a month before graduation. The Service Club has been disbanded due to internal strife between the members and was never reformed the following year. Since then, I found myself helping out more and more with the Student Council, and growing closer to a certain flaxen-haired underclassman of mine.

In fact, I was about to confess, but she suddenly stopped me.

"Eh? Can I ask why?"

"I'm happy, I'm honestly really happy with our relationship and the past year, but I'm not sure how far I want to take this. I was serious with you. My feelings, what we have, despite the pretenses, I felt honestly was the genuine thing I'm looking for, but the fact of matter is you're going away, aren't you?"

"Yeah, it's true. I felt like doing this, now, because I don't want it to end just because of distance."

"I'm happy, senpai." so she says. "but, I think some distance might be good for us. I want to see how long I can hang on to these feelings. I want to know if this is the genuine thing we were looking for. So please, give let's give ourselves some time. Sorry to put you through this again."

"Huh, what do you mean?"

"I know why the service club fell apart, I know you ended up confessing to both of them. I never mentioned it because I didn't want to believe it, but it was always in the back of my mind that I was like a fallback."

"There's no way tha..."

"I believe you. So…" she interrupts. She takes a deep breath. "Could be that you're trying to confess your love to me, I'm sorry but please give me sometime to see if it really would work out."

She says so with those familiar words.

"Okay." I say defeated. She really is sly.

…

It's been four years, since my high school graduation. I've graduated from college. Lots of things has happened since then. I've changed my name to avoid debt and had to cut my connections with a lot of people. Japan has gone through a major reconstruction period changing the layout and name of many cities. Apparently, cybernetics has been enhanced to incredible levels. There was even an incident just last year about a cyborg attack. There was that new billionaire, Ago-something. Even mysterious beings have been occasionally popping up around the world, but I don't care about any of that right now. I've always said, "To work is to lose," but here I am brooding over a failed job interview to become a corporate slave. It's not my fault, the skills I went to college for are not in-demand. Bah, I already knew it was going to end up like this, but after living on my own for a while, I've realized how foolish my dream to become a house husband is. My mind falls back to three moments in my life, where that could've still been a reality.

…

Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad, but it's too late, now, I can't even get in touch with them. I don't care about anything anymore.

A/N: The first two chapters of this will be just rehashing the OPM manga, before it gets into my own more or less original content.

"Ah!"

I hear a woman suddenly scream.

"Run away."

"It's a monster."

A monster? I look up and forward and see something big, red, and almost naked in front of me. Heh? So, it comes down to this, huh. I don't run. I just look at it. This must be one of those mysterious beings that the news said to have been showing up lately.

"Huh? Are you sure you don't want to run away? Fuku, Fuku." it says. Like I said, I don't care about anything anymore.

I sigh.

"Fuku. Fuku?" it continues. "I bet you're a newly employed salaryman already tired of work."

If only.

"I ate too much crab and transformed into this, Crablante."

What the hell… How does that even work… sigh. I swear can this guy just get it over with.

"Why aren't you running?" it asks. "You've got a death wish? Is that it?"

Do I really got to explain myself to this guy? To tell the truth, I don't want to die, I don't like pain, but because I don't like pain, I don't mind dying to get rid of the pain I'm feeling now.

"Well, not quite." I begin.

"Fuku?" it utters.

"I'm no salaryman. I'm unemployed. I just came from a job interview and got rejected royally. I couldn't care less about anything right now. So, I don't feel like running just because the Great Crablante appeared."

"Fuku, Fuku, Fuku!" it seems to laugh.

"So, what'll you do, if I don't run?" I ask it.

"Fuku!" it makes a giant grin.

"Your eyes are lifeless like mine. From one set of lifeless eyes to another, I'll let you go."

He begins to walk past me.

"Besides, I'm hunting different prey right now."

"Hmmm…" I utter just out of genuine curiosity.

"A big-chinned brat. When I find him, I'm gonna rip his arms off. Fuku, Fuku, Fuku, Fuku!" it laughs as it walks away.

Huh, somehow, I'm still alive. This is the first time my eyes have done something like this for me. I genuinely don't know how to feel about this, but I guess I'll go to the park. I don't think I want to face my parents right now. My parents weren't so happy of changing my name and running away from debt as the responsibility fell upon them. And they've been badgering me to find a job. I feel like a failure of a son. I've been living under their new roof again since the reconstruction and the renaming of this place to City Z. Humans are amazing to have advanced technology this fast, but I guess as a result things like that and cyborg attacks are starting to happen more frequently.

As I walk by the playground at the park, something in my peripheral vision catches my attention.

A big-chinned brat playing with a soccer ball.

* * *

Edit(s):

[1] Just made a few grammar edits.

[2] Added a bit of stuff and fixed a few more grammar mistakes. Feel free to point them out.

[3] This was supposed to be just a one-shot chapter, but people seem to be asking for new chapters, I guess I'll consider it. Expect timeskips though.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Birth of a Hero

The big-chinned brat looks at me staring at him.

"Huh? What are you looking at?"

While I admit it's kinda rude, how can you blame me for staring at such a thing. What are you doing here? If you're caught by that thing, you're dead.

Calm down. Maybe it's not really him. Ummm…

"Hey kid, have you been messing with a giant crab monster lately?"

"Huh? Yeah, he was sleeping in the park, so I drew nipples on him with my marker."

Ugh. It's him. It's definitely him. He has no idea what he's done.

I keep staring at the double-ball-chinned brat. Yes, that's right. Double-ball-chinned! What do you even do in this situation? I may still have time. The monster hasn't found him, yet. Should I help?

The kid gives me a confused expression.

But this kid isn't even cute at all. That's right. It's his fault. Why the hell should I bother? To work is to lose, source me. It's none of my business. I should just stay out of it. My parents are waiting.

The kid just goes back to playing with his soccer ball. This kid must be a loner too. Right, who would even care if I don't do anything. I heave a light sigh and begin to walk away.

Who knows maybe the Crab won't even find him. Maybe I should at least tell him to go home…

"I… FOUND… YOU!"

Kuh! I moved even before the words registered in my ears. Dust clouds blow up in my face and dirty my suit. A thundering crash echoes as the giant crab claw is pounded into the dirt. I moved quick. Quicker than I have ever moved in my life. I guess those afternoon tennis lessons with my Totsuka those years ago really paid off. Wait, don't get distracted. Wait, WHAT THE HELL AM I EVEN DOING!? Ugh, too late now. I quickly face the kid in my arms that I just saved.

"Kid, he's after you, hurry up and get outta here!"

I hear the loud footsteps from the monster approach.

"Don't worry about me! Just hurry up and go!"

"B-but…" what the hell is it? "My soccer ball…"

"Your ball!" Are you joking!? Your life is in danger right now. Do you even care?

 _Pop!_

The great Crablante had just crushed his all important soccer ball. I hear kid utter a small cry as the air the left his favorite ball.

"Hey, you, what's the big idea? Don't tell me you're going to save that kid's life."

"Hey, hey, come on, you're not really going to kill him over some little prank?" I try to persuade him. "Think about this!"

"Fuku!" the Crab face scoffs. "I've already mutilated lots of people. Whoever makes fun of the way I look pays the price. No exceptions."

Right. Even when I saw him earlier, I noticed but tried to ignore it. Even though his claws were red, I knew those stains couldn't have been anything else. I had thought I was actually going to die. Well, I may be proven right in a little bit. Damn it. What the hell am I even doing? Why do I even care?

"By the way, that brat drew nipples on my gorgeous body! With permanent marker, no less! Look at these claws, I can't even use a towel to wipe them off!"

The great Crablante pointed one of his giant claws at me and shouts out,

"Get in my way! And I'll make sure you'll never go job hunting again."

How incredibly petty. You're like a bad anime villain. Heh, does this make me some generic shounen protagonist. What am I supposed to do, attack his weak spot for massive damage or something, like he's some sort of boss monster?

"Hehe…" I begin to chuckle. "Hahahahaha!" I just burst out laughing.

"Fuku?" the great Crablante gives me a confused expression.

"It just came to me! You look like a villain from an anime I used to watch."

Right, what the hell matters anymore. I've made up my mind. I've committed social suicide to help people before. How different is thi…?

Guh! The giant claw came swinging at me. The air was forced out of my lungs immediately and I was sent flying to the other side of the park. A huge explosion of dust and debris spew forth as I land hard onto the trash cans near the restroom stalls. Ugh, couldn't you have picked a better place to throw me?

Ugh, looks like I'm tougher than I thought. I can see now why Hayama started to feel like he needed to compete against me in our third year. I guess carrying all that stuff for Isshiki all the time built up quite a bit of muscle.

The great Crablante marches over to the kid. I'm not gonna stop now. You haven't finished the job. You haven't killed me, yet.

The kid screams as the crab's shadow looms over him.

"Die." the crab eerily speaks.

I grab a small piece of concrete from the debris surrounding me and chuck it as hard as I could as the crab's face.

"Huh?" the crab says as he looks in my direction.

"Hold it right there. With the birth rate so low nowadays, I can't let you kill a kid."

Heh. I try to think of the lamest excuse I can think of. This kinda reminds me of my Chuunibyou days for some reason. Right… Forget being a corporate slave. Forget being a house husband. I saved Yuigahama's dog for this reason. I stood up to Yukinoshita's parents and screwed over my scholarship for this reason. I committed social suicide time and time again for this same reason.

"You know what. When I was little I always wanted to be a hero. Not some salaryman, but a hero that could send villains like you flying with one punch."

That's right. If these are my last moments, I'm going to live them the way I want. I strip off my corporate slave tie and wrap around my fist leaving the knot open.

"Screw looking for a job! Come on and Bring it on!"

"Some hero you are!"

"Argh!"

The claw came so fast, again like the first time, but I can see it. It's like trying to predict Totsuka's movements with a tennis racket.

"Ragh!"

"You're pathetic!"

And that's how his other arm moves. It sends me flying up again. I drop hard onto the ground hitting the side of my pelvis first of all things. Ow. I'm bleeding all over. My head is thumping, I think a few bones are broken, and I can't feel my face. But I don't care. This is the best I've felt in ages.

"You don't stand a chance against me. This is where…"

His next attack is coming. I can see it.

"…You die!"

I jump back and the claw lands just right in front of me.

I use it as leverage to vault myself over his head. I got one chance at this. Hit the boss monster at its weak spot. That's the ticket.

The open knot in the tie latches onto the base of the crab monster's right eye. I land right behind him and pull as hard as I could.

I hear something snap. The crab monster behind me screams. Squishy and slimy entrails I can hear are being pulled out and are dropping just behind me. The crustacean's raining bodily fluids spurt from his body and rain back down on me. I keep pulling. The entrails seem endless, but after a few more seconds pass, the last pieces finally come out of the now empty shell and wriggle and writhe on the ground before me.

I'm breathing heavily. My legs and arms are burning from muscle fatigue. Blood continues to trickle from hitting my head from that first attack earlier. But even so. Even with all of that, I've never felt so alive.

It's as if a fire has lit up inside me. Damn. How am I going to explain this to my parents? And especially, Komachi.

* * *

Author note(s): I was aiming for this to be a one-shot with only one chapter, but it looks like people are expecting more so why not. I think I may have went a lot OOC on this one, but what do you expect. I'm trying to put two characters into one. Anyway tell me in reviews what you think and also point out grammar mistakes. This was made relatively quickly.

Edit(s): Just fixed up some of the grammar and wording.


	3. Chapter 3

Warning: This is a chapter where my shipping biases and personal writing style take over by a lot, so expect OOC moments. So yeah, sorry about that. Quality is probably not on par with the other two chapters, which was basically rehashing ONE's awesome writing. If enough reviews criticize it, I'm willing to revise this chapter. For the next few chapters, I'm probably going to be focusing on Saitama/8man's three years of training, before jumping to the main series, and going over how he turns into the Caped Baldy.

Chapter 3: My hero hobby is wrong as I had expected.

I find myself waiting at the Chiba University. I heave a sigh. She's late. This isn't exactly unexpected but you'd think she'd have learned a bit more courtesy by now.

"Senpai!"

Well, at least she's here no… oof! I don't want anyone to be alarmed but there is currently right now, a flaxen-haired maiden clinging to me as if trying to squeeze the light out of me. People leaving the school pass looks at us. Isshiki, don't you still care about your reputation. Isn't doing this to me in public kinda hurting it? After I don't know how long, I finally get her off me.

"You're late."

"Senpai, haven't I told you before, you're supposed to say 'I just got here' so as to not make the girl feel bad. Do I need to re-train you now?"

"Well, you didn't even bother asking how long I waited."

"I got too excited, it's been such a long time."

I look at her gleaming face. Ugh, she's as sly as ever. But that's just to be expected.

"Yeah, it has."

Isshiki and I stayed in touch mostly throughout university. The first year, she was busy with Student Council work back in Sobu High and often had Komachi help out and so by extension me. The two became close, and so often hanged out, so we saw each other often, especially thanks to Komachi's insistence, it's as if our relationship hadn't changed at all, until of course, the debt debacle, apparently I somehow became the victim of identity theft in my third year in college and whoever was using it ran up a huge amount of credit card debt, with my credit in ruins and an inability to get student loans, I had no choice, but to change my name, unfortunately I couldn't stay in Chiba, or City Z as its now called. My parents unfortunately had to deal with repaying the debt and have had a grudge on me since. I'm sorry, it's not like it was really my fault. Komachi, luckily was able to get a scholarship, and she however didn't stay in Chiba, she has gone to the university in the newly named City Y, instead. She probably has a better future waiting for her than the one I have currently. She had to stay with a cousin of ours, due to my parents unfortunately not being able to support her living expenses if she had rented out an apartment or dorm to live on her own. She still occasionally visits though. I was put in a similar situation, but with my parents and me were moving to City Q, and finishing my degree their under a new name. But with the increase of sightings of mysterious beings, a year later, when everything finally settled, we decided to move back to Chiba/now City Z. Unfortunately, changing your name takes a lot of money and paperwork, so I'm gonna have to keep my new name.

"So, how'd they take it?" the flaxen-haired heroine asked after I explained to her what happened.

"Not so well, I have to start paying rent if I want to continue living with them, and they're charging pretty much the same as a regular apartment, so they're basically telling me to move out."

"I guess it can't be helped. Here."

She hands me a piece of paper.

"A hiring poster?"

"I've gotten connected to a few people while working on my degree. These guys offer out temp jobs, that pay pretty well, for short hours. It's usually stuff like construction or dock working, but I'm sure you can handle it. I know you'd rather just be a house husband and do your hero stuff, but I'm budgeting enough as it is."

"What with that? Are you implying something?"

"Wait, could it be that you're hitting on me? I'm sorry, but I prefer guys that employed and have a stable income? So, it won't work out."

"Ugh…" Didn't you do it first?

"Hehe." she giggles pleased with my reaction.

"Ah, Also here…"

She hands me another piece of paper.

"I can handle this much. These apartments are pretty cheap plus they're near a supermarket. I can help with the paperwork and deposit, but you'll have to handle the rest. I'm living in a dorm on financial aid, but I've been able to get a bit extra due to good grades. I was gonna splurge it, but I guess I can use it to help you out instead."

"You've gotten really reliable, since your Student Council days, haven't you Isshiki?"

"That's mean, Senpai. Of course I have."

"Haha, my bad, you've been a great help."

"Senpai… are you really sure about this? I mean, are you really sure? I know when you're serious, but even to me, it sounds kinda ridiculous."

"To tell you the truth, I'm not exactly sure myself, but I am serious and it is what I want to do."

"You've changed a lot. I was scared you know, when you suddenly left, I couldn't get in contact with you, or with Komachi, and your parents moved out of their old place. It was as if there was something suddenly empty."

She suddenly clings onto me.

"I don't want that to ever happen again."

"I'm really sorry, Irohasu."

I stroke her head, like I normally would Komachi.

"It's fine, you're here now, just don't ever do it, again."

…

Since that day, I began my hero workout. 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats, and a 10 km run every single day. Unfortunately, I can't afford a gym membership, so this is the best I could do. Most of the things I've done lately have been pretty mundane, while yes, mysterious beings have been popping up with increasing frequency, keeping my hands full of hero work, but most days is me helping with car accidents, guiding traffic on temp jobs, working on construction sites, doing dock work, and yes occasionally getting kittens down from trees and helping people across the street. I've really fallen, haven't I? To work is to lose, that was my motto, then again, haven't I been disobeying that motto since I've entered the Service Club, and there's also me constantly helping out Isshiki. Sigh, now that I think about it, I guess it's not so shocking to see me doing this. I guess this is more of a natural progression more than anything.

Today, I'm guiding traffic with a slow/stop sign at another construction site. It's nice to get the light weight work, but ugh, I'm not sure how much more my body can take of this, plus it's the height of summer. I can't even use the air conditioner at home because it costs so much. And I've been training for weeks now, with no rest. There was even that snail monster that nearly bit my head off, why on Earth did that thing have teeth!? He said people had always mocked for being so slow, but that thing was nearly as fast as Crablante. Luckily, it had a weakness, too, and fortunately I had just came from working in a sea salt factory and they had given me souvenirs. Haah. I heave a large sigh, I'm tired, it's been only 3 weeks since I decided to become a hero, I can't back down now. I decided this and I need to stick through it. Otherwise, I'd never be able to face my parents or Komachi ever again.

"Eugh, you can't be serious, Onii-chan. Komachi, isn't planning on providing you for life, I mean if I really have to, I will, but I'd rather not. Ah, that was probably worth at least a dozen points." that was pretty much how our last conversation went.

"Hmmm…"

As I hold up the stop sign, one of the drivers of the cars in front of me catches my eye or rather I caught theirs. I'll change the sign in a sec, don't be impatient. Looks like the other lane has cleared, so I'll switch the sign now, remember it says 'Slow.' The sign has changed, but they don't seem to notice.

"Ah!" I hear the one in the driver seat yelp as if like a dog and finally continue on the road slowly, but I can feel her eyes on me as she goes along. Hey, hey, now, don't crash into anything. Finally, the car disappears from my vision range, but I clearly recognized the person that was in that car. Her hair was didn't have the old dye color it used to have, but I see she's still sporting that bun.

I wonder what Yuigahama has been up to.

…

96… 97… 98… 99… 100.

Hah!

As I finish that set, I quickly begin my 10 km run. Huff. Huff. Huff.

"Ah!"

I hear someone scream and I hear the sharp, high-pitched barks of a small dog. Looks like I'm going to have to finish that later. It was going to happen eventually, I guess.

…

"That was amazing, Hikki."

"Yeah, yeah."

It wasn't really much. I thought it might be another mysterious being, but it's was just some punk trying his luck stealing from a defenseless young girl late at night. Sorry buddy, but looks like luck wasn't on your side. The police should come pick him up from that dumpster in a bit.

"You still like MAX Coffee right?"

MAX Coffee? Ah, you're a life Yuigahama-san!

I tried to keep my cool, but ended up snatching it from her hand. I haven't had these in such a long time, okay. Don't judge me!

"Ah, thanks." I say to avoid seeming too rude.

The response I get is a small giggle.

"Hikki, you've changed a lot haven't you."

"I guess you could say that."

I sip at my MAX Coffee. Ah, so invigorating. I needed this.

"But I guess you haven't changed that much. Hehe."

Another giggle. What's up with you woman?

"Anyway, the city is starting to get dangerous. You shouldn't be walking around at night like this."

"I know, but this is the only time I can really walk Sable."

"I'm guessing you've been busy."

[1] "Yeah. We've getting more and more injured people at the hospital lately, but it finally slowed down recently in the last few weeks."

"So, I guess you passed last year's classes just fine."

"Yeah, partly thanks to you."

"Huh, me? I wasn't around."

"It was difficult, the past year without you around, but I still clearly remembered what you tutored me on." she adds.

"Well, you shouldn't always just rely on me."

"Yeah, you're right." as she said that, the look on her face gets a bit sullen. Back in my high school days, I tried to be ambivalent about these kind of things, but my skills and understanding have evolved since then. You can't solve everything by just turning people away, especially those close to you. I heave another sigh.

"Well, but if you need anything and I'm not busy, I can probably manage. "

A small smile forms of her face. Damage control done I guess.

"It's alright, you're right anyway. Ehehe. I was still able to graduate, so it's proof I can do things on my own, too."

After the spat that was near the end of our second year in Sobu, we didn't interact as much in our third year. However, all three of us ended up going to Chibidai and reconciled our relationships there. Yuigahama went towards the nursing route in college. Our classes were completely separate, but she asked for help often with the general stuff from me and Yukinoshita. We talk a bit and I bring her up to speed on what's been happening.

"Eugh. A lot has happened I guess. When I saw you working as a sign holder and wearing a hard hat, I couldn't imagine what happened."

"It can't be helped. With the name changes and my practically useless degree, I'm not exactly the most desirable corporate slave."

"Well, looks like some things haven't changed."

Is it that the more things change the more they stay the same? She begins to bring her own drink to her lips, before I ask,

"By the way, have you stayed in touch with Yukinoshita?"

She paused right before taking a sip.

"Yukinon moved away." she said solemnly.

"Huh? When, where to?" I try to ask ambivalently.

"She never mentioned where exactly, actually. It was around the time we lost contact with you. I think part of the reason she was staying here in Chiba was because of you. Without that, there was nothing stopping her."

"Huh? How would me being around stop her?"

"You don't get it, Hikki. You never got it, but I think that's for the best."

"What does that mean?"

"Just forget it."

She stays silent for a bit. I know what she's referring to, but I don't want to think about. I don't like pretending it didn't happen, but with this, it just can't be helped. The reason the Service Club fell apart. Sigh, I can't begin to understand how a loner like me ended up in that situation, but there's no helping the past.

"Hey, Yuigahama…"

"Sorry, Hikki." she suddenly interrupts. "I'm really glad you were there to save me. I must be getting in the way of your training, right. I'll be careful on my way home. You take care."

"I can walk you home."

"Ah no, it's fine, it's not far. Thanks."

She begins to walk away. I find Sable staring at me with its tongue out instead of following its master. What is it? I don't have a treat for you. It finally turns away when the leash begins pull on her as Yuigahama gets further and further away.  
I heave another great sigh. I've been sighing a lot lately, haven't I? They say you lose a bit of happiness every time you sigh. Not that I believe that though. It's probably just the simple coincidence that you just happen to sigh most often when something bothering you or making you unhappy. So it's just sheer statistics propagating the myth, not actual genuine science behind the matter. Then again, what would I know? I didn't major in a scientific field. Wait, what was I thinking about again? I think I've been zoning out more and more lately, too.

…

* * *

Author's Note(s): So yeah, we got Yui and Iroha in the scene, now. I still haven't completely decided on what to do with Yukinoshita. I feel like I should possibly make her Fubuki and she's away on training atm, at least that's what I was thinking when writing the conversation between Yui and 8man.

The one glaring problem with that idea is that if I make Yukinoshita, Fubuki, I'm going to have to somehow justify Haruno, being Tatsumaki or maybe I don't. Maybe Haruno is something else entirely, and Tatsumaki is another Yukinoshita that we just haven't met yet. Haruno would be a lot older than Tatsumaki by this point, heck maybe Haruno is actually Blast, lol.

Write in reviews your thoughts and point out any grammar mistakes. Next chapter, I think I'll show Hayama, I know exactly who he'll be. It'll be Sweet.

Edit(s): scratch the Lily Idea, Lily is 15, so the ages don't sync up. Maybe make her Rumi instead? lol

Edit(s): I realize that the conversation between Yui and 80k is kinda lacking, especially with the tone shift. Will be making changes to that in the future? Will probably update it by the time, the next chapter is out.

Edit(s):[1] where added content for Yui-80k convo starts. Not completely sure about this. When I first tried to revise it, I feel a bit like I may have added a bit too much fat to the conversation, so I tried to trim a lot of it and this is the result.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Okay this chapter I'm sticking to. You can consider it my 'official' chapter 4. The other just being a concept chapter.

Chapter 4: Roots

 _Interlude 1: A Meeting of Hope and Lies_

"So, that's pretty much my report on the matter." says the researcher as he presented us with the case of the increased sightings of mysterious beings.

"Have we ever found a possible source?"

"There are many theories from radiation to recent advances in genetic modification, but none of them hold any ground." the researcher explained.

"As you can see, we have a very pressing issue at hand. Without a source, we are going to be forced to deal with the problem as it comes, that's why I'm proposing the formation of this association." One of the men in the front of the room begins speaking. He's a tall man with a large build, but big stomach, however all that is glossed over because of his one determining feature, his absurdly large cleft chin. He's the billionaire Agoni, the head of an investing firm.

"Mr. Agoni, I understand the magnitude of the matter at hand, but a Volunteer Hero's Association? Wouldn't a private army be more appropriate." A woman with a stern face speaks up. She had black hair tied in a elegant bun and wore a formal kimono.[1] Her audacity indicates that she also has a large degree of influence over this meeting and is an important figure.

"I understand the criticism Mrs. Yukinoshita, but a private army isn't going to sit well with the gov't, and having them deploy the military each time would be a problem, plus most of these monsters aren't on that level." the billionaire responded.

"There are many reports of ordinary citizens standing up to these monsters and being to able to deal with them. Given the proper equipment and motivation. We may be able to organize able-bodied citizens to deal with this matter faster than we could any military with much less public outburst." one of the people in the experts' panel interjected.

"In fact, my own grandson was saved by such an individual. Also in fact, we have one of those individuals right here in this room, please stand up young man." Agoni added.

A blond, blue-eyed, prince-looking young man somewhere in his early twenties stands up.

"Hayato?" the stern woman pondered inquisitively.

"This is Hayama Hayato. The next in line of the distinguished Hayama family, we expect great things from him. We invited him here because of his family line as well as his recent achievements. He was able to stop a rampaging giant shrimp monster by tying its long antennae to a light pole and keeping it there long enough for the police to arrive and finally put the creature down." Agoni continued.

"Unfortunately, for a task like this to be effective, we are going to need a lot of funding. Volunteers, they may be, a task like this is too great for any one individual to handle, while also trying to support himself and of course medical costs are also a concern. I alone can't support an organization of this scale by myself especially for a purpose that is essentially non-profit, so I ask my fellow businessmen and investors to lend me your help as concerned citizens. These mysterious beings only seem to be increasing in number and until we find a way to stop them completely, we are going to need ways to keep the general citizenry safe in ways our gov't can't."

"If the Hayama family are going to get involved with this, then the Yukinoshita family will provide support as well." said Mrs. Yukinoshita.

"Hayama-kun?" Agoni beckons him to respond.

"Yes, the Hayama family will be providing their support to the hero association and as it would be, I will be one of the first members and will represent the organization in public relations."

"Then, it's settled. The Yukinoshita family will also be providing our support."

… _Rendezvous, After the meeting._

"So, the Hayama family is really getting involved, huh?"

"Yes, ma'am. There have been too many cases involving the mysterious beings to ignore. Many people are trying to sue their insurers for not covering cases of damage caused by the mysterious beings. The firm has been busy combatting those cases, when father heard about what I did, he found it to be the perfect opportunity to strike up a deal with Agoni and get the public support, while still providing the minimum of financial support."

"Yes, I expected as much. My family will have to do something similar as well. Property damage done by these things is heavily affecting business. We're probably able to provide the organization with a headquarters to house operations in from one of our owned real estates, but with you here, I think it's best to also give them someone from the family to help with their affairs and solidify our position."

"Maybe, Haruno should…"

"Haruno is already busy with affairs in our own business. You know who I am referring to, don't you."

"…"

"Yukino, will be entering the Hero Association staff as well, you're going to work closely with her. With that Hikigaya kid gone, you should have no trouble winning her over again."

"Mrs. Yukinoshita, I…"

She holds up her hand to indicate she wants to hear no more of it.

"I've already said all I needed to. Good day."

Hayama tightens his fist as the stern woman walks away. He tries not to show his frustration. Once again, he is forced to put up a facade. But he knows she'll be able to see right through it. Why? Why must it be always like this? Hikigaya, you fool, why did you leave her?[2]

 _Interlude 1 End._

 _Interlude 2: I need a Doctor_

"Ah, welcome back, Doctor."

"Ah, Gahama-san, what are you doing?"

"Just trying to give Genos here his medicine."

"I don't need it, sitting through the pain, will discipline my mind sooner or la… Euragh!"

[2]

"Genos-kun, take the medicine, a useless exercise like that won't help you become stronger."

"Yes, Doctor…"

"Here…" I hand the medicine over to him, with a cup of water. He disregards the water and just swallows the pill.

"Thank you, Gahama-san. Genos-kun apologize."

"Sorry, Gahama-neesan."

"It's alright."

The Doctor goes in and fiddles around with the monitor and brings out schematics and X-rays featuring the parts being used on this kid Genos, I can't understand any of it, but I can tell the procedure must've been painful. I can't even imagine the pain he must be going through right now. I've met these two when I was volunteering for an emergency response team after the cyborg attack. I was one of the few nurses that volunteered to help those affected by it, many of other nursing students were too afraid to go.

They did manage to get several of us and one Doctor, this man Doctor Kuseno, but it was pointless, there was not a single soul in sight. We wandered the ruins of the entire town looking for someone to save, but it was all just the burned and ashened remains of that cyborg's rampage. It was terrifying for all I know I could've very well stepped on incinerated human remains. But even after the most of the other volunteers gave up, I kept searching and that's when I found him.

A little farm boy around 15 at the time, on the verge of death. Doctor Kuseno was following me, he was one of the few that continued to search. His face seemingly ambivalent to the signs of destruction, but if you really looked, you could see that they were clearly strained. The boy we found was still clearly alive, but I couldn't think of anything to do that could possibly save him. Several limbs were broken, burns were riddled across his body. It wasn't at all pleasant to look at. I couldn't think of anything to do. I took out the emergency kit in hopes of maybe finding something, but Doctor Kuseno stopped me. He told me to step aside and just prepare some alcohol and bandages.

When I first saw, Doctor Kuseno, his mushroom like hair stood out and through me off. It wasn't like any ordinary bowl cut hairdo, the amount of hair gel it must've took to keep that hair style from being ruined by the elements, must've been unimaginable, but as it turns out that wasn't it. Several robotic appendages came from the top of Doctor Kuseno's head and his arms morphed into an array of surgical tools. He told to prepare some alcohol and anaesthetic which he then proceeded to drink and work on the little boy's body. After the surgery, I bandaged up the boy and brought him to our hospital. Doctor Kuseno came several days later to pick him up.

"Genos, there is significant damage to your new arms from some pretty deep claw marks and also several severe burns, what have you been fighting?"

"There was a phoenix-like mysterious being. It was going around in the farmlands burning crops, I was able to hold it off and protect some of the farmers, but it flew away and I was too slow to run after it."

"It would've been pointless to do so. Unfortunately, something for sustained flight would likely take up too much space for your body to handle at the moment, get some rest, I'll work on new parts for you later. Thank you for your help, today, Gahama-san."

"No, it's alright, he came into the clinic pretty beat up, so I had to get him back, my shift was almost over anyway, so it was no trouble."

I'm worried. So, this how it's like to fight those mysterious beings. I wonder, is Hikki really going to be alright?

 _Interlude 2 End._

AH-CHOOO![3]

Ugh, what was that?

"You, alright?"

"Yeah, just some soot in my nose I think, ah sorry, thanks again for the food, by the way."

"Ah no, thank you. Not only did you save my life. You saved most the crops and did fantastic work on the field. Unfortunately, that thing burned my wallet, it's going to take a while to explain this to my bank and get a check for you ready, so I can't pay you right now. This is the least I could do."

"It's alright."

Actually, it's not alright. Yes, this bundle of vegetables is going to save me a bit on my grocery bill, but that's nowhere near enough to pay this month's rent and the firm is running out of temp jobs to give me. They say I'm fulfilling way too many of them and they have to save some for other clients. Ugh, I'm gonna be late on the bill again. Hardwork betrays none, I've said before, but what is this? Why is my hardwork betraying me and making it harder for me to earn money? Why am I having to nickel and dime every month just to make next month's rent despite living in a cheap apartment? I look at the nervous face of the farmer I just saved. Sigh. I can't fault him for this. The only one I can fault is the mysterious being that popped out of nowhere here. A giant fire-breathing chicken really? I need wash the soot off my clothes when I get home. Fortunately, it itself wasn't fireproof and I was able to use the gasoline from the tractor to set it on fire using its own attacks and then skewer it with various pieces of farm equipment and cut off its head, despite that it seems to still be somewhat alive, but the phrase 'running around like a chicken without its head' exists for a reason.

"Well, I'll send word to the temp job firm about today. Hopefully, the least they can do is find you some other work, if not pay you the money I owe you and just charge me later once I get the stuff in order."

"Well, thanks for that."

Unfortunately, the world isn't so simple. I already got my job for the week. The only reason I was able to take yours was because you made a request, but didn't put the money up front. You were denied, but the clerk remembering your request and accounting for my desperation decided to give both of us a chance. So, a series of coincidences modified some variables of the world and put the odds in our favor, albeit it was temporary, as the odds stacked against us still won out in the end. Ugh, will the odds be ever in my favor?

Sigh, maybe if I skip a few meals or ration out my food, the price of meat in the market has been rising lately, maybe if I switch to buying chicken instead of pork I can… wait, chicken?

"Uh, sorry, sir."

"Hmm? What is it, boy?"

"Do you mind if I take the monster with me?"

"Uh…"

Was it obvious what I was planning to do?

"Ah, I see. Tell you what boy. I'll butcher for you."

Crap. It was. It definitely was. ;_;

* * *

A/N(s):

[1]: Understand this is Yukinoshita's mother, not Yukinon.

[2]: Sorry for giving Genos this kind of Rebel teen attitude, but I think it's appropriate considering his style of clothing, I think he was probably a punk at some point. I just wanted to include him somewhere in the story.

[3]: As I said, I'm keeping this part of the chapter.

[]: Also as of right now, I still haven't officially integrated Yukinoshita into the story, or at least haven't had her character show up. I feel kinda bad since the other girls already had their short spotlights. Hopefully, I'll figure it out eventually. I think this chapter came out much better than the other version. I released it pretty quickly, since the last update wasn't exactly a real chapter. Tell me what you guys think.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Doubt

 _Interlude 3: Reunion_

"Hmmm… the amount of equipment here is a bit overwhelming. The hero association is going to be… Eh?" I pause my sentence when my eyes meet with an old friendof mine.

"Yu-ki-non?…" she says seemingly bewildered at the sight of me.

"Yui-san? Why are you h..."

"Yukinon!" my question was quickly interrupted by Yuigahama-san running up and suddenly hugging me tightly. Very tightly.

"Ah! Gahama-san! You're crushing me!" [1]

"Ah, I see you two are already acquainted." Dr. Kuseno, also in the room, reacts to our reunion with a genial smile.

"Doctor, what's going on here?" I ask.

"Ah, well, Yui-san is an old acquaintance I made after helping deal with the aftermath of a cyborg attack, she works at one of the local hospitals. I'm assuming she already knows about you."

"Yukinon, what are you doing here?" my old friend asks.

"She's been contracted to me by the newly formed hero association." the Doctor answers the question.

"Hero Association?" she confusedly asks.

"Yukinoshita, I'll let you hear this, now. That man Agoni may have made it seem like a small volunteer neighborhood watch type organization when he pitched it in the meeting with your mother, but understand this is a much more serious endeavor than that. We are dealing with real threats here, if you don't want to take part, I can send you to one of my colleagues and just tell your mother that you're working there as my representative. As you can see from this lab, there is going to be much more to this association than meets the eye. Plus I'm not the only one they contracted." [3]

"No, whether or not my mother had ulterior motives sending me to become part of the association, I do genuinely want to help with this cause."

"I see, very well, but be prepared."

"I don't really know what's going on, but…" Yuigahama looks up at me still hugging me pretty tightly. "…Yukinon, it's been a while hasn't it? You're both back now, I'm so glad."

"Both back?"

…

Yuigahama brings me up to speed with the recent events. Including his return back to Chiba, or now City Z. During our separation, I had moved to the first of newly named cities of the reconstruction period City A, to participate in a special research program headed by Professor Sashide Minami[3], a robotics research professor. When mother wanted me to move away from Chiba and go to the same school as Hayama again, I wanted to pursue a degree different from what my mother originally intended when taking me out of Chibadai and that's also the reason why I decided to choose the sciences in my third year in Sobu and pursue a possible doctorate's degree. She wanted me study law like Hayama, but she didn't have control of what classes I took and I was on a scholarship anyway, so she couldn't cut my funding, she couldn't stop me. I studied under Chiba's Division of Artificial Systems Development before then. During my time there, I met Dr. Kuseno who once led a lecture on cyborg developments, and informed me of Prof. Sashide's program.

He has tangential ties to the family being an influential scientist. So, when Mother mentioned his name and that I'd be likely be working with him. There was no doubt in my mind, that the hero association wasn't what she pictured. Mother originally planned for this to bring me closer to Hayama, yet again. She probably pictured the association being first a small tight knit charity company, but like last time looks like that's going to backfire on her. I doubt me and Hayama will be interacting much with our busy schedules. But still, with the hero association, this kid Genos, the increasing number of appearances of mysterious beings, and Hikigaya-kun trying to become a hero, I can't help but wonder, 'What is the world coming, too?'

…

"Ah, we should probably tell Hikki about the formation of a Hero Association! It's probably exactly what he's looking for." Me and Yuigahama-san were chatting sharing our adventures and catching up with what happened while we were separated. Our lives are apparently a lot more interesting than I had anticipated. I had been working with Prof. Sashide on new cyborg models, while Yuigahama-san was on the field and in the hospital taking care of victims of the recent rise of Mysterious being attacks.

"I don't think that's a very good idea. Gahama-san." I say my honest thoughts. Hikigaya-kun becoming a hero, what has gotten into his head!? I know he can eccentric, but this.

"Huh? Why?"

"You heard it from Dr. Kuseno himself, this Hero Association is going to be serious business and going to be more than meets the eye. I don't think it's safe for someone like him to join."

" … yea…, you're probably right." she says rather dejectedly.

"You've seen what happened to someone like Genos, a cybernetically enhanced human, went through that much trouble for one mysterious being. It's best for Hikigaya-kun to realize the foolishness of his dream, this is no different from him saying he wants to be a house husband."

"but, he's been really trying."

"Hardwork betrays none, but dreams betray many. I do agree, it's important to challenge and better yourself, but don't you feel what's he's doing is a bit insane."

"but, it's Hikki, don't we kinda know him to do some kinda insane things."

"…" She's not wrong. Hikki is definitely known for his crazy stunts, from his weird essays, his methods of helping people, his insistence of being a loner, and of course his social suicides. I throw a small smile in her direction. "If he's really serious about this, I think it's best if he found his own way."

We sit chatting for a bit longer, but then suddenly…

Several blares and alarms and flashing lights assaulted our senses as laboratory went on full alert.

"Doctor!" Genos screamed running down the hall.

What's going on? Concern and worry are painted across Yuigahama's face. And I couldn't blame her. Are we under attack? What does this mean?

"Nee-sans, please follow me to the monitor room." he called to us.

We quickly made our way to the room featuring multiple large holographic screens.

"Doctor, what is the threat? Is it the phoenix. Just send me and I'll quickly eliminate it."

"Genos-kun, I don't think your current equipment is enough to handle this. I'm sorry, but we're going to have to evacuate."

"Damn it. Doctor, if it's that severe, I can at least probably hold it off."

"No, Genos. We have to…"

An explosion in the facility interrupts the conversation.

 _Interlude End._

 _Back to Saitama from his job at the farm in the last chapter..._

"Mmmm… that chicken was surprisingly good." I got an entire cooler worth of the stuff, that should last me a while.

"Ehehehe… Onii-chan, when you said you needed help with something I never imagined it would be something like this?" said my little sister, Komachi, to my left.

"It can't be helped, there was too much of it, if I took all of it, it would spoil. Plus this would help with both our grocery bills."

"So, Onii-chan, looks like you're doing really well, right, Iroha-senpai." she says.

"Yeah! Definitely." responds my sly kouhai, Iroha, to my right.

"Hah? How is barely just being able to make next month's rent be considered doing well? I'm struggling enough as is with my constant training and most of these jobs require a lot of manual labor. Can't I at least catch a break from my financial troubles?"

"But, I heard from the temp job firm, they've never heard of anyone capable of fulfilling that many requests that fast. No wonder they valued you so much at the Service Club."

Everyone is a slave to their past. No matter what you do, your past will sooner or later bear down on you and resurrect to remanifest itself at inopportune moments. My past as a service club member and my dream to become a hero, my current situation is the result of those aspects of my life manifesting themselves as apparitions coming back to haunt me. Where is a blonde donut-loving vampire when you need one, that or a bug-eyed, pale-skinned kouhai whose gender cannot be determined? [4]

"Can we keep talks about High School to a minimum? And anyway didn't you also always ask for my help, you should already clearly know your senpai's value, Isshiki."

"I never said I didn't know. And wasn't it you that always just nonchalantly comes into the Student Council room to help me. You came in so often it surprised the other council members the times when you didn't show up."

"That's because I already knew you were going to call me there anyway. It was just me saving time. Hikigaya Hachiman is a purveyor of efficiency. Efficiency, I tell you, efficiency."

"Well, it wasn't like I was forcing you, too. You're the one that chose to always be there. Plus, it's like you're saying I'm not efficient. I can be reliable, too. You wouldn't even have these temp jobs or heard of that apartment if it wasn't for me."

"Sly. You always find someway to make me be unable refuse, me going there first, just saved unnecessary effort for both of us."

"Say that all you want Onii-chan, you enjoy exchanges like this don't you?"

"Komachi, please don't misunderstand, this is just a malfunction of my Big Brother AutoSkill occurring." [5]

"Siscon."

"Where did that come from!?"

"Ah, right, Onii-chan, you never told us your new name. Mom and dad never bothered to tell me it either, since they said it was best for me not to get involved."

Komachi has had a rather large smile on her face while observing the exchanges between me and Isshiki. What's up with you? And what's up with our parents, what kind of parents tells their child to basically disown a sibling? I know I didn't turn out the way you wanted and you're angry about me having to change my name, but I had no choice. If there's someone to blame, blame whoever put all that debt under my name.

 _Tiny Interlude 1: the one at fault_

"Achooo!"

"Ugh, cover your mouth when you do that, Zaimokuza." [6]

"Sorry."

"Make sure to wipe the keyboard later, are you done getting through that mainframe, yet."

"Not yet, but I think I'm almost there."

"Alright, don't get the wrong ID this time. Who knows whose life you could ruin by running that much debt on a random person. Ever found out who did we screw over before."

"Nope, not a clue, don't care anyway."

"Uh huh…"

The tapping of keys continues in the dark room.

 _Interlude end._

Sigh well, it's not like that I mind being called by it. Most of my new acquaintances call me by it, but I'd prefer it if old friends continued to call me as they usually do. But no harm in letting them now.

"It's…"

 _Boom!_

We hear a nearby explosion and see smoke pouring into the sky from just a few km away. "Looks like there's trouble. You two stay here, I'll check it out."

I dash in the direction the smoke was coming from as fast as I could.

"Wait, Senpai!"

"Onii-chan!"

…

* * *

A/N(s):

[1]: Idk why I switch between calling her Yui and Gahama, it's just how I imagine them saying the lines in my head.

[2]: Idk why either, but I'm always very finicky about names and often times I may spend hours trying to find a good, uselessly appropriate name. Anyway here's the name in Kanji, Sashide Minami [差出南]

[3]: While Dr. Kuseno does provide support to the hero organization he is not necessarily an official member, he is just one of the contracted scientists that Agoni hired to provide equipment, including him, Bofoi, and my OC Sashide

[4]: Monogatari series reference, now that I think about it, it's kinda forced, but whatever.

[5]: Referencing a fan comic, by ねン土 on pixiv

[6]: Zaimokuza becomes a hacker, lol, think Daru(Itaru Hashida) from Stein's gate, I know Zaimokuza's not smart like Daru, but with the proper motivation I think he could pull it off.

[]: it was originally going to be Komachi that was Dr. Kuseno's assistant, but since I've yet to introduce Yukinoshita and she seems to be the most academically capable of the group, I think she fits the bill better to possibly become a scientist herself. Someone make fanart of Yukinon in Makise Kurisu style labcoat or outfit. Anyway short chapter, please write reviews of what you think. Sorry for if it ever gets OOC, I just make this stuff up as I go along because I find writing with this universe and characters just fun. Updates times will vary.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Interludes aren't really interludes anymore, but are just really changes in perspective. I'll still call them interludes though. I may also be doing a bit of head hopping in this chapter, so I apologize in advance.

Chapter 6: Cyborg Clash

"Girls, please head to the shelter, there's a bunker in the lower floors just past this room. It should be sturdy enough to protect you. Don't leave until the battle is over." Dr. Kuseno with a serious and stern face commands the girls to head to the shelter. They comply, but look back with clearly worried faces to both of us.

"Doctor, you should take shelter, too. I'll handle the threat." the young cyborg is fired up to fight.

"Genos-kun, as I've said, this isn't something your current equipment can handle on your own."

"But Doctor, I have to fight to get stronger!"

"I know that, I never said you weren't going to fight, but I'm not letting you fight alone."

"Eh? What do you mea…"

A whirring sound interrupts his question and gives the answer.

The panels on the floor began to shift and open. Mechanical belts and gears begin to rotate and steam rises from the containers as their contents are lifted out and pushed upwards. The young cyborg Genos' eyes become wide as he sees what these things contained.

"They're not quite ready, yet, and honestly these were only really made for the purpose of testing parts before they were put on you, but they should us help us quite a bit."

"Doctor, these are…"

"They're androids Genos, purely mechanical with no organic components like you, they're drones essentially, they've been fitted to synchronize with your systems. Our enemy is tough, even with this added arsenal, I'm not sure if we're a match for them, but I'm not about to go down without a fight, either."

"Doctor, who is our enemy?"

"A robot of the Organization, The Machine God prototype G1."

"What!?"

…

Another explosion ripples through the underground compound. The Machine God G1 launches another tactical missile at the complex's entrance.

"Hmmm… this weapon could use a bit more firepower, but one more should do it."

G1 launches one more tactical missile at the large, battered, metallic entrance gate and…

 _Boom!_

A huge explosion erupts. The force of the explosion pushes the metal and bends it until the force exceeds the metal's tensile strength and the explosion rips a hole through the metal gates.

"I haven't had enough luck with organics, fortunately, integrating machine and flesh is Dr. Kuseno's specialty, I'll just take the data from him and hmmm…"

A yellow flash can be seen coming from the darkness beyond the entrance. It gets quickly brighter and bigger and within what is actually just milliseconds a large beam of incinerating energy comes spewing forth from the entrance. The incineration energy engulfs the Machine God G1 in its magnificent orange-yellow glow and the heat creates an ensuing explosion.

"Did that do it?" asks Genos. [1]

"Nope, he's still there." Kuseno responds.

As the smoke clears from the aftermath of the incineration cannon. The Machine God G1 is shown completely unaffected by the beam, aside from a few soot marks.

"Not nearly potent enough. I see Dr. Kuseno hasn't improved much in terms of combat technology, but this certainly is an interesting specimen."

"How dare you mock the Doctor's brillian…"

"Genos, focus…" the doctor stops Genos before he finishes and looks back at the machine. "Who are you and what do you want from us?" asks the Doctor.

"I am the Machine God G1 of the organization. I was just sent here to collect your research data."

"You son of a…" Genos was about to curse.

"Genos!" the Doctor tries to quell the youth's violent impulse and turns back to the machine. "I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that."

"You don't have a choice." G1 holds his arm out and preps a wrist-mounted missile launcher pointing straight at the Doctor and Genos. "This missile contains about five times more power than the ones I used on this 20 cm thick reinforced steel entrance earlier. I bid you farewell."

"Genos synchronize with IC2(Incineration Cannon 2) and counterattack!" shouts Dr. Kuseno.

"Yes, Doctor!"

With Genos's primary fire cannon linked with IC2, there should be enough power counter the firepower of that missile.

G1 fires its missile and Genos' and IC2's linked incineration cannon fires. The beam and missile collide. The ensuing explosion rips a new hole on the side of the mountain where the entrance to the underground lab is.

"I see it seems you weren't going at full pow…"

Genos emerges from the smoke and launches punches at the cyborg at super high speeds.

Combining with MGB2(MachineGun Blow 2) and A2(Accelerate 2), Genos speed and physical offensive ability output multiplies tenfold. Finally, a dent appears in G1's armor as punches rain down on him at close range, but he quickly grabs Genos by his legs mid-punch and throws him off to the side of his body making him impact with such force that he bounces off and continues to do so rolling through the dirt of the crater left by the explosion in front of lab before stopping.

"Doctor, I'm sorry." Genos says before falling unconscious.

"I see, slightly more potent than anticipated, but no match for this model nevertheless." the machine turns his attention to the Doctor. "Doctor Kuseno either step aside and hand over your data quietly or die along with that cyborg."

"You know very well, I don't go down easily, my old friend. You're listening in on this aren't you? I'm not very fond of violence, but if my back's against the wall, I guess I don't have a choice."

"Such brave words coming from an almost dead man."

"Oh, I wouldn't count my chickens before they hatch, my friend."

"Eh?"

Dr. Kuseno's body begins disassembling and rearranging itself showing that he himself is cybernetically enhanced. The Machine God G1 curious about the development and eager to gather combat data, allows the Doctor to prepare himself.

"I'm not built for combat, but while Genos is heavily damaged, I still have spare IC's, MGB's and A's. But I'm still no match for him, but if I can find an opening in his circuits, one that's likely not shielded, I can possibly take him out with an EMP."

As he finishes assembling, the machine god remarks,

"Haha, interesting! Definitely interesting! Who knew you would go so far? But I have a surprise for you, too."

Dr. Kuseno looks intently at the machine worried at what's about to come.

"Combat Phase 2, activate!"

 _Meanwhile, with Saitama..._

I heard several additional larger explosions from the area as I rushed over to the location where the smoke was coming from, it took a few minutes to get here. Looks like there's a battle going on over there and whatever is fighting, it's getting lively. I come across a small hidden valley in the mountain revealing to me a large cave and the causes of the explosions earlier, two cyborgs duking it out with one another, one with clear advantage over the other. One is an old man with a really crazy weird mushroom hairdo and the other is a one-eyed large hulking machine, it might not even be a cyborg, it might just be an android for all I know.

 _Back to Kuseno..._

"I never thought you'd be this difficult to deal with, you're surprisingly tenacious, Doctor." the machine god exclaims as he toys with the Doctor's attempts to find an opening to damage.

His armor has been reinforced. He's even faster now, he's just toying with me trying to gauge my abilities. I have no chance, the only way to beat him is a core explosion, but even then Genos would get caught in the explosion, I've run out of options. The only thing I can hope for now is a miracle.

"This is the end, doctor. Time to di…"

 _Whomp! Crash! Boom!_  
"Huh, what do you know, I guess the training's working. How heavy is that droid? 90-100 kilograms?"

You're completely off. The thing's about 990 kilograms. Wait, what! What just happened?! The machine god was about to crush me under the force of its hydraulics reinforced limbs, but something or someone suddenly blew him away. As the smoke clears, I see a young man in a track suit with fists raised up with plastic bags in them.

"You! What just happened? Why are you, here?"

"Ah, Jii-san(old man). Mind giving this fight to me. You seem tired and I'm assuming he's not welcome here."

"Yea, he's an intruder, who blew up the entrance to my lab."

What is this guy? Why is he nonchalantly saving me like this?

"All I need to know. Oh, and can you watch over these for me? It's just groceries, but I kinda need them, so keep them safe."

"Ragh! You dare interfere with our battle, you damn organic!" shouted the machine god as it emerges from rumble.

"That's rude. Weren't you created by a so-called organic?"

"Hmph, well this shouldn't take long, you caught me by surprise once, but it won't happen again. Let's see how you go up against this!"

The machine god launches itself at the young man and with full force tries to land a blow aiming for the young man's head, but young man blocks it and absorbs the force of the impact while his feet dig into the dirt.

"Guh! That packed much more of a wallop than I thought."

He's smiling! The young man is smiling even after receiving the full brunt of the machine god's impact.

"You're surprisingly tough for a human." the machine god states. "But can you handle this!"

The machine begins it's combo attack, not good! Can this guy handle multiple attacks like that coming rapidly? The machine god rains a barrage of metallic fists on the young man. The man keeps a defensive stance, but his guard and his arms are only protected by the thin cloth of the track suit and it's receiving the full brunt of multiple blows each second. The ground cracks under his feet. The machine god ends the combo with one final reinforced punch that finally breaks through the young man's guard and blows him away. The young man collides with the mountain side springing more dust and debris from collision around. No, I guess it was too good to be true. Well, you tried young man, I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough to protect you or Genos, the girls at least should be safe, but my life's work is about to end here. I can't let the organization get their hands on this data.

"Nice attack! You got me there!"

Huh!?

"Impossible, how did you survive that?" the machine god exclaims.

He's alive!? He's still alive!?

"My arms are still feeling it. I think you bruised them quite a bit."

Is this man really human?

"Kuh! It's still in the experimental stages, but you should make for a decent test of this. Let's see how you handle. Combat Phase 3, activate!"

Electrical sparks fly from the machine god as he launches himself straight at the young man at an alarming speed, but he seems to have anticipated it. He quickly dodges out of the way of his attack. The machine couldn't stop his momentum, but it twists its body to follow his direction.

"Missile Barrage!"

More missiles!?

And it's unbelievable the young man is dodging them with seemingly such little effort or wait his movements are awkward, but it's as if his sensory perception is just keen enough that he can dodge without even tracking all their trajectories.

"Jii-san(old man), look out!"

Some of the missiles he dodges whizzes pass him and comes straight for me. I'm not broken yet, so I was able to quickly dodge, but that puts my original theory out the there, he is tracking them, but how?

The missiles exploded in the spot right where I was at when they hit the ground. Impact dials on their nosecones on their nosecones must be what's setting them off. They won't explode unless the nose hits something solid. The barrage continues and both the young man and I keep dodging. Oh, I just realized I was supposed to keep in eye on his groceries, but it seems the missiles have taken their first true victim. The barrage finally ends. Perhaps the machine is finally out of ammo. And what?! The young man is holding a missile in his backpocket. I see he must've noticed the location of the impact dials and grabbed one during the assault. He charges straight for the machine. After what his first punch did, the machine puts up its arms to block his attacks.

Looks like he's got the machine god on a heavy defensive stance, but can this man actually even inflict damage to him in this mode. He was able to punch him back in Combat Phase 2, but even then his fists couldn't pierce through the armor, best he could do is probably dent it. The young man closes in on the machine god and then launches a great flurry of punches directly at the machine god's guard.

"Raaaaaah!"

I was about to call him a fool for doing such a seemingly pointless attack, but I see now. He's not trying to break through the guard, but rather break the guard itself. It may seem like he was just flailing angrily, but each of his hits were specifically targetted, his powerful fists are bending the armor around the joints of the machine god's elbows and knees. Each hit reducing the distance and degrees of freedom in the gaps in the armor.

The young man's attack ends.

"Pointless attack, human!" the machine god taunts.

Whirring noises emanate from the machine god with its guard is still up. He's stuck in that mode now. Whirring noises continue and begin to get louder while the machine god stays in the same stance.

"What is this!?"

That's right. From his punches, the armor was bent in a way that the joints would have a difficult time restraightening his arms and limbs. The whirring noises get louder and louder as the machine god tries to restraighten himself until.

 _Snap! Crack!_

Pieces of his armor chip off from the hydraulic forces of trying to straighten himself. The young man wastes no time, he quickly gets behind the cyborg and shoves the missile he caught during the barrage into an exposed spot under the armor. This blows the cyborgs left arm off and leaves the young man's own left arm very bloody, but he doesn't stop. The machine god tries to swat him with his remaining arm, but the young man is too fast. Grabbing a piece of metal from the debris left by the left arm, he uses the metal bar to dig into the knees' and right elbow's exposed hydraulic fluid delivery systems and puncture them, the fluid spills out of the joints as if it was blood, leaving the machine god with no way to effectively move its limbs.

"You Bastard!"

Finally, the young man takes the metal bar and pierces the core inside the machine's one eye. Sparks fly out of the opening and the circuitry in the machine god's head explodes. The machine falls over. A great thud and dust cloud erupts from the weight of the fall, but quickly dissipates. Whirring noises emanate the machine for few more seconds but then ultimately shut down.

It's over. Unbelievably, it's over. I've got to treat and repair Genos, quickly. Luckily, he wasn't caught in any of the explosions from the missile barrage earlier, but oh wait, right the groceries the young man entrusted to me unfortunately were.

 _Back to Saitama..._

Damn it. That was a lot more painful than I thought. Whew! That was one heck of a fight. Now…

"Uh, Jii-san(old man), where did you put my bags of groceries?"

"Uh, about that…"

… _Saitama, returning to Iroha and Komachi_

"Uh, don't worry, Onii-chan! You can have the share you gave me and Iroha-senpai, you need it more than us anway. Don't worry just consider it a bunch of points for both of us."

"What is that? You guys are double tallying on me now?"

"Ehehehe…" Komachi makes a nervous laugh.

"Hmmm… What's wrong?"

"Senpai, you should know very well. You're lucky, I carry around a first aid kit with bandages on me or else you could've been in big trouble, what if your wounds got infected. I have an uncle in the military, gangrene can be really serious you know." Isshiki says as she bandages up my left arm.

"That's the first I've heard that, you having a relative in the military I mean. Also why DO you carry that around with you? You're not taking up nursing like Yuigahama did."

"I carry it around because of you, idiot." [2] she muttered near inaudibly.

"What was that?"

"Nothing, I just like being prepared. And what? Would you like it better if it was Yui-senpai treating you?" she's being sly again.

"Uwah, Iroha-senpai is tsundere, I had no idea."

"Komachi-chan." Isshiki makes a scary face towards Komachi's direction.

"Ehehehe, my bad."

…

 _Interlude 4: Aftermath_

"I can't believe there was this much damage. Also Doctor, you suffered damage as well, are you sure you're fine?" remarked Yukinoshita when examining the remains of Genos's companion components(IC2, MGB2, and A2).

"I'm okay, the organization specializes in weapons technology, they're not as sophisticated when it comes to pure system design, but the amount fire power they hold is staggering. Genos took biggest brunt of the blow from the machine." I respond to her.

"I'm really glad you two made it out alive, ah, looks like Genos is stabilizing." said Yuigahama.

"Doctor, I'm sorry." Genos says hoarsely.

"Please rest up, Genos." I says to him, damn what am I gonna about you. "If it wasn't for that man passing by I don't know what would've happened."

"Individuals like him are probably what the Hero Association is going to need. Do you see what I mean now, Yuigahama-san?" [3] says Yukinoshita.

"Yea, I guess I do…" Yuigahama still looks a bit dejected, but I think she definitely understands. There aren't only mysterious beings to worry about, but also cyborgs from the organization and possibly other threats. The Hero Association is also probably going to be targeted on all sides. Even if this Hikigaya-person will just be in what will probably later be the lower hero ranks, it's probably best if he realizes his own foolishness earlier and not get involved, like another certain someone that I know.

 _Interlude End._

 _Tiny Interlude 2: dawn of justice [4]_

"Justice Tackle! Argh!" someone shouts.

A punch interrupts the shouter's charge and sends him back.

"Nice try, kid, but the Red-Dog gang ain't about to submit, we're taking over Z-city." says the gang member.

"Not while I'm around. I won't let evil like you triumph. I'll be back!" says the loud person.

The loud person runs off, but the gang members don't bother following him.

"Hehe, he won't be back, let's go." says the seeming gang leader.

"Raahh!" the shouter returns with a battle cry. "Justice Crash!" he yells.

"Huh!? Gah!" was what came from the gang members.

 _Interlude end._

* * *

A/N(s):

[1]: Genos isn't equipped with sensors as of yet.

[2]: Okay, sorry for tsundere Iroha, i just think that's how she would act if she was both kinda mad but worried, well i guess it's not exactly tsundere then if that's the case, other than the 'baka(idiot)' part, but oh well.

[3]: Refering to their conversation about not letting 8man into the hero association. Dr. Kuseno doesn't know his face and so couldn't tell them the stranger that saved them was Saitama/8man. Plus, it's been a year since Yukino has last seen 8man, who normally doesn't go around in a track suit, and Yuigahama has only really seen him that one time as since this is in battle and he's fired up, his lifeless fish eyes aren't apparent, so Kuseno wouldn't point it out. And no Kuseno didn't record it with his cyborg eyes, and any camera at the gate would've been blown away by the inciniceration cannon and missile collission. It's just part of the usual irony of OPM where Saitama is the one always saving the day, but he barely ever gets credit for it.

[4]: Just a small cameo of Licenseless Rider, doesn't really mean much, other than he's somewhat related to Dr. Kuseno. Both being the Rider of Justice and Scientist of Justice, respectively.

[]: obviously my shipping biases are showing and definitely doing a lot OOC moments. especially in 8man's part in the fight against the machine god, but this is his transition to becoming Saitama, and Saitama found a lot of enjoyment fighting difficult opponents and 8man's been in many fights already by this point, so he should be at the point where he enjoys it to this level already.

[]: I don't think this chapter is very good in terms of sentence and story structuring, with the head hopping and all, but I feel it makes up for it in terms of content. I guess this leans more towards OPM than Oregairu and also kinda neither, which is why I put the crossover tag back on. I just wished you didn't have to go to a separate list to find this instead of being able to find it in both lists when searching because I feel the crossover tag just makes this story harder to find. **Anyway thanks for reading, tell me what you think in reviews and point out grammar mistakes.**

[]: regarding episode 9 of OPM, anyone else notice the similarity between what is basically social suicide by Saitama and 8man's tendencies, lol.


	7. Mini Chapter 6m

A/N: this is a chapter in the main OPM storyline, I'll return to the three years of training arc after this chapter. I just had this little idea and wanted to write about it.

Mini Chapter 6m: A short glimpse into the future

"Here are the essays from today's Hero exam, get cracking we have over a thousand of these to go through."

A myriad of groans and moans echo in the conference room, where we were grading the Hero essays. I decided to volunteer my time for this in hopes of maybe finding a decent man in this organization, but I'm stuck doing what I usually do at Sobu High School anyway. No, it's even worst, most of these essays wouldn't make it past high school level grammar, but the grading rubrik won't even allow me to completely fail them. All of them are just cliche, predictable ramblings of what a hero is.

"Ah, Hiratsuka-sensei, do you have a spare pen? The one they gave me ran out of ink."

"Yeah, here you go, Hanada." [1]

"I guess both of us kinda regret doing this, huh."

…

I'd take thousands of Hikigaya's antisocial, cynical, apathetic essays over any of this trash, though with the current grading rubric, I'd finally be able to fail him for a reason, but that wouldn't be as satisfying.

80… 75… 91… most of these are just failing on the grammar paragraph structure department, but they say everything the hero association expects them to say.

"They say the point of this essay is really to give those with great passion for being a hero a chance to make in the ranks, even if they fail the physical exams." Hanada-sensei tells me.

"Well I guess that's why the grading is so light."

…

"Hmmm… Hiratsuka-sensei take a look at this one."

"Huh? Is it especially bad."

I finally come across one that is not only fairly decent, but amazingly written. It talks about his tragic past of being nearly killed by a cyborg, the pain he went through sitting in the ruins waiting for someone to save him, the relief he felt when he was finally rescued and the amount of gratitude his heart felt, how his rescuer became a fatherly figure to him as he walked through the step with new limbs that allowed him to walk again, the awkward steps that he had to go through readjusting to his new body parts, and finally it ends with his burning desire to repay his savior's kindness as well as make those who hurt him and others pay for their misdeeds. A tear rolls from my eye at the beauty of it.

"It's wonderful."

"He'll definitely make a fine hero, I'm giving this boy a 100, what was his name? Genos, I'll keep that in mind."

"Yes, he deserves it. Ah, how old is he?"

"Um… 19 it seems."

"Ah, that's too bad. Well, hopefully there are treasures like that in my pile as well. Hopefully from someone older."

"Ehehehe."

"Well, let's see."

The next essay I opened was completely the opposite of what I had just read. I will give him props for great wording, perfect grammar, and overall a great persuasive structure to deliver his point. He may have the correct idea of being a hero, but by the association standards you could consider him more a villain. His views on society being helpless and too pre-occupied, so that those with the strength must carry the burden, so they can live out comfortable lives. He talks about self-sacrifice and how trying hard can leave you in a place where even achieving your dreams disappoint you, but you must carry on. It's cynical, it's conceited, it's unsymphathetic, and while the content honestly isn't wrong, it's twisted in a way that I know only one other person could do. Wait… don't tell me he's registering!

I quickly look at the name on the essay sheet.

"Saitama, Age 25?" oh, so it's not him.

"Oh, another gem? and 25's young, but I guess it's still in your striking range."

"Shut up, also no, this is the exactly opposite of what we just read. While the grammar is all there which means he still gets the full 40 points for writing ability, according to the association rubric he only gets 2 for passion for heroism." [2]

"Eh, that bad, huh?"

"It reminds me of an old student of mine."

"Eh, that Hikigaya-kid right, I had him as a student, too."

"What's he been up to lately?"

"I don't know. He suddenly disappeared near the end of his 3rd year, haven't heard from him since. I caught a glimpse of him a few years ago right outside the campus talking to one of the students, a girl with flaxen hair if I recall correctly, you might know her, but I haven't seen him since."

"Heh, so those two are still in touch, huh. Well, whatever. I never thought I'd read another essay like this since he left Sobu, but I guess there's others that share his twisted view of the world as well, What they're doing trying to play hero though is beyond me."

Then, again if I recall correctly, Hikigaya did that quite a lot in his Sobu days as well. In his own twisted matter, too. So, I guess it's not that far-fetched.

* * *

A/N(s):

[1]: I remember reading about a Hanada-sensei, in one of the fanfics here I think, forgot whose though.

[2]: 42/100 is 21/50, which is what Saitama got in the written test of his Hero Exam.

[]: Just a short chapter featuring our favorite Hiratsuka-sensei and showing why Saitama failed the written exam in the Hero Association test. I did this in a few minutes, so grammar may be all over the place sorry about that. Correct me in reviews.


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